Photo provided An artist’s rendition of the new pizza place going into the former Bucceto’s location in downtown Columbus.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission is sending forward Upland Brewing Company’s request for a riverfront liquor license at its new pizza place downtown.
The establishment, currently referred to as “Black Sheep,” will be located at 345 Fourth St. in the tenant space formerly occupied by Bucceto’s in The Commons. Upland’s Joshua Ratliff attended a special meeting of the redevelopment commission on Monday to give some more details about the restaurant, which is set to open to the public as early as this winter.
The city has a riverfront district downtown, which allows additional three-way liquor licenses, meaning licenses allowing the sale of beer, wine and spirits, Director of Redevelopment Heather Pope said.
There are 15 riverfront liquor licenses that have been issued for the district and eight available, according to Pope.
The process to obtain a riverfront liquor license starts with an applicant making a request to the redevelopment commission, as Upland did on Monday. The commission then makes findings that Upland meets certain criteria outlined in their application and recommends that the mayor provide a letter of recommendation which Upland will attach to their riverfront liquor license application to the state Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.
The Commons Board in April voted unanimously to approve structural changes to Upland’s tenant space at their request, including a new main entrance through an exterior door off of Fourth Street, plus a garage door, known as a Renlita door, on Washington Street that on nice days will flip up and allow those on the street to purchase drinks from the Upland bar.
“This is the first of several Black Sheep concepts that we want to open. Three in 18 months is our current plan, and then we’ll see how that franchise or operator model might carry elsewhere,” Ratliff told the commission. “… Prototyping this in a medium-seized community like Columbus is on purpose, tying it to a downtown and making it not upscale, but we say high-touch. So approachable, familiar foods, beverages, with a touch of service and a beautiful interior, something (where) you can feel like celebrating a little victory or commiserating after some sort of team loss or something.”
There are plans to expand a patio area Washington and Fourth Street as well, which would serve as an outdoor area for hanging out with a fire pit, but not until the spring.
The establishment is set to accommodate 81 seats and have 17 full-time employees, according to Upland’s application to redevelopment. Black Sheep will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. with the exception of Friday and Saturday where hours would be “extended,” Ratliff said. The heart of the operation will be its “$75,000, amazing Italian wood-fired oven,” according to Ratliff.
“We are opening this winter, the date that we’re using as our goal right now is Nov. 1,” Ratliff told commissioners. “All signs in terms of construction, furniture, equipment, is on track or a little ahead right now, so we anticipate our first happy hour behind the scenes type-events starting the last week of October and opening to the public on Friday, Nov. 1.”
